Lake Forest has three City Council seats on the November ballot and only one incumbent running for reelection, guaranteeing at least two new faces on the dais.
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Five candidates are vying for the District 2 seat, with incumbent Benjamin Yu facing challenges from George Azer, Brandon Council, Becky Keene and Brittany Thompson.
In District 3, Tom Grable and Anil Patel hope to win a spot on the council, while District 4 has Shari Rhodes and Amy Stevens vying for the seat.
We asked the candidates questions about housing, city finances, transparency, and more, which you can read in our voter guide.
Here is what each said was the biggest need facing the city and how they would address it:
District 2
Azer, small business owner: To maintain the high quality of life we have in our city, we should have economic growth/support local business; have affordable housing; encourage more developers to expand in our city; support our sheriff’s department; encourage more charter schools in our city.
Council, mechanical engineer: I’ve traveled the world and spent a lot of time exploring social spaces to meet new people and make friends. Lake Forest really needs a vibrant, safe “third space” for locals to wind down and connect. Our sports park comes to mind and is a great foundation! We have our farmers market there, which fits right in, but it’s still missing something. I am inspired by Laguna Beach’s Sawdust Festival, if you haven’t been, I encourage you to check it out sometime!
Here in Lake Forest, we have tall, beautiful trees and forest that already naturally exists in our city. I would love to find a space that could serve as this third space that takes full advantage of the natural forest to build an economic hub that a family would want to go to after a long day, where children could play, be connected with nature and grab a coffee or a bite to eat.
Maybe even support another event space for plays, live music, and our favorite outdoor movies in summertime. I would love for this to be located close to the sports park, which is centrally located in Lake Forest and where a lot of the infrastructure and room for growth is already there. If we were to further develop this location in our city, then including more room for parking would also address a growing concern among residents of parking at the sports park.
Keene, systems analyst: The city will need infrastructure expansions and zoning updates related to continued residential growth. There is no expectation of large developer fees to fund large projects, but we have the secure financial footing to update infrastructure. We need to plan it carefully.
Expanded infrastructure needs to take into account more traffic and more parking. And the planning should look at more than just increasing the number of cars on the road. It needs to involve planning location and directions. Can more cars and trucks be fast-tracked to the freeways and toll road? Can we encourage mixed-use zoning and businesses such as local restaurants that result in locals staying local and even walking to destinations? Can we encourage more public transit? Can we add park-and-ride lots for buses and carpools? Can we expand bike lanes — make them more welcoming and safer for tentative adult bikers? And public safety is paramount, particularly for fire engine access and evacuations in the many fire hazard areas we have.
Thompson, community volunteer: One of the greatest needs that Lake Forest has is maintaining a strong quality of life while the city continues to grow and change. That means keeping neighborhoods safe, maintaining roads, supporting local businesses, providing opportunities for families, and making sure residents remain connected to their community and local government. Addressing this requires thoughtful long-term planning rather than waiting for problems to arise.
I believe city leaders should listen to residents, regularly engage with individual neighborhoods, responsibly manage growth and public resources, and build stronger partnerships with businesses, schools, community organizations, and other local agencies. A strong city is not just measured by its budget or development, but by whether residents feel safe, heard, connected, and proud of where they live. The goal should be to preserve the things that already make a community a great place to live while continually looking for practical ways to make it stronger for the next generation.
Yu, incumbent: Lake Forest is a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family. We are blessed to call this city home. I believe our greatest need is to protect the quality of life our residents have worked so hard to build. My goal remains simple: keep Lake Forest, Lake Forest.
That means keeping our neighborhoods safe by ensuring law enforcement has the resources it needs; maintaining our roads, parks, and public spaces; addressing traffic congestion through innovation and proactive planning; and continuing practical efforts to reduce homelessness while protecting our neighborhoods and businesses.
It also means maintaining a fiscally conservative and responsible budget. We must carefully manage taxpayer dollars, maintain healthy reserves, address long-term obligations, and prioritize essential services without unnecessary spending.
As Lake Forest grows and changes, we should embrace opportunities that benefit our community without losing the character and quality of life that make our city special.
District 3
Grable, principal, Thomas Grable & Associates: Lake Forest’s biggest challenge is going to be preserving the quality of life residents value while preparing responsibly for the pressures ahead. That means maintaining public safety excellence and city service levels, managing finances conservatively, protecting neighborhoods and private property rights, and responding intelligently to land use and housing mandates by the state of California.
I will focus first on public safety, including strong law enforcement partnerships and practical responses to emerging problems such as e-bike safety. I will insist on disciplined budgeting, better-than-adequate reserves and careful management of long-term obligations. I will utilize my 40 years of land use, development and housing experience to protect local control while meeting legitimate housing needs.
Finally, the city must remain economically healthy. I will support and promote local businesses, streamline permitting, maintain roads and parks and plan for known upcoming senior staff transitions so institutional knowledge is not lost. My goal in this area is straightforward — keep Lake Forest safe, financially strong, well maintained and locally controlled.
Patel, senior project manager: One of Lake Forest’s greatest challenges is managing change while preserving the quality of life and community character that residents value.
Our city’s motto, “Remember the Past, Challenge the Future,” captures that balance well. Growth and new investment can be exciting and bring important opportunities, but as we plan for the future, we also need to be mindful of the established neighborhoods, local character and quality of life that make Lake Forest special.
Housing, development, traffic, infrastructure, public safety and rising costs are all interconnected. Growth without adequate transportation and infrastructure planning can increase congestion and place additional pressure on existing communities.
I would focus on responsible long-term planning: addressing traffic and parking impacts, maintaining and improving roads and parks, protecting open space, supporting public safety and ensuring infrastructure keeps pace with development.
My experience serving on Lake Forest’s Traffic and Parking Commission has reinforced the importance of considering both citywide needs and neighborhood-level impacts. We should challenge the future and embrace opportunity, while remembering what residents have built and protecting the character of the communities we already call home
District 4
Rhodes, business owner/general contractor: Residents and businesses rank addressing homelessness as their top priority, then reducing traffic congestion, enforcing traffic laws, adult recreation and zoning enforcement.
Residents want more restaurants and stores, then homelessness/poverty, parks and beautification. Housing already costs too much in Orange County. Lake Forest City Council has been looking at sites for affordable housing plus park space because leftover land is scarce.
Stevens, communications consultant: Lake Forest’s biggest need is adapting to a growing, changing, and increasingly diverse community while protecting the quality of life residents value.
Our city is not one-size-fits-all. We have longtime homeowners, young families, seniors, renters, immigrants, small business owners, commuters, students, and residents with very different needs and schedules. City Hall has to do a better job reaching people where they are, not only hearing from the same voices at the same meetings.
I would address this by improving communication, expanding neighborhood outreach, and making city decisions easier to understand and participate in. That means plain-language updates, earlier notice on major projects, more accessible meetings and engagement options, and councilmembers who actually show up in neighborhoods.
It also means planning ahead on the issues that affect daily life: traffic safety, housing, parks, emergency preparedness, vacant storefronts, and infrastructure. A city that listens well can plan better. Lake Forest can grow and change without losing what makes it feel like home, but that requires leadership that is visible, practical, and genuinely connected to residents.
Read more of the voter guide, including what the candidates said would make them good leaders and how they would represent the city’s diverse community at ocregister.com/voter-guide.
Ballots may be returned by mail (must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received within a week of Election Day) or to the OC Registrar of Voters’ drop boxes around town now, and the first vote centers will open for casting ballots in person on Oct. 24.
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